Photos of Duchess of Cambridge and children stolen from Pippa Middleton's iCloud account

Police have launched an investigation into claims photos of the Duchess of Cambridge and her two children were among 3,000 private photographs stolen after Pippa Middleton's iCloud account was hacked.

Both the Sun and Daily Mail newspapers reported that an anonymous seller had offered the pictures to media organisations via encrypted messaging service WhatsApp.

The images offered reportedly include some of the royal children as well as wedding dresses and parties, with the seller wanting to sell in the US because of UK privacy laws.

The Sun said it had been approached by someone using a pseudonym and asking for £50,000 within 48 hours.

Pippa Middleton and James Matthews are to get married next year. Credit: PA

Specialist officers at Scotland Yard are investigating after receiving a report of hacking on Friday night.

A spokesman for the Met said: "No arrests have been made. Inquiries are ongoing."

The paper quoted a spokesman for Miss Middleton as saying: "Thank you very much for drawing this to the family's attention. I can confirm that not only have the lawyers been informed but the police are about to be involved as well."

The alleged theft comes two years after a host of celebrities, including Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence, fell victim to a hacker attack on the iCloud - which stores private photos from phones and computers online - which saw images posted online.

In July it was announced that Miss Middleton would marry her financier boyfriend, James Matthews in a society wedding in 2017, with William and Kate saying they were a "wonderful couple".

Hedge fund boss Mr Matthews got down on bended knee during a trip to the Lake District after they had dated for less than a year.